Thousands of Syrian villagers are fleeing homes in the countryside south of Aleppo in the face of a government ground assault backed by Russian airstrikes, one of four major offensives mounted since Russia’s military intervention in the long-running Syrian civil war.
The three other offensives are focused mainly on rural areas in the provinces of Homs, Hama and Latakia.
Three weeks into the Russian air campaign, no ground assault has been launched by government forces in major rebel-held urban areas.
Militia commanders say they suspect the strategy of the government of President Bashar al-Assad is focused on stretching the rebels, seizing control of key highways and encircling larger insurgent-held towns in northern Syria.